Major League Soccer and the Bundesliga will be among the first league competitions to test-run video replays next year.
In a press release earlier today, FIFA, in conjunction with the international rule-making organization IFAB, announced that a handful of domestic leagues and cup competitions around the world will trial video reviews in live, officially-sanctioned matches starting in early 2017.
FIFA will be using the Club World Cup later this year as a final dry run before trials start in earnest. Replays will be handled by a Video Assistant Referee, a new member of the match officiating crew. The VAR will have no contact with the referee during offline experiments but will be in full contact with them during live trials.
In addition to MLS and the Bundesliga, video replays will be used in the A-League in Australia, the Primeira Liga and Portuguese Cup in Portugal, and competitions in Brazil and the Netherlands.
IFAB Secretary Lukas Brud says the geographic spread for video replay tests is important. “The IFAB believes the best way to answer the question of whether the use of VARs will improve the game is to test it in different regions, so we are delighted to already have competitions across four confederations sign up.”
The trials are expected to last up to two years, with an official decision from FIFA and the IFAB expected by 2019.